A&H

What should I do?

J

Jacob Walukiewicz

Active Member
I turned 16 earlier this year meaning once I re affiliate I will be a level 7 referee. But it also means the last season of junior football for my team, we have 3 games remaining and afterwords I will be looking forwards to a team for next season.
However after refereeing a full year with U11s and 12s I am craving a step up.
This however causes problems with my plans as I am still unsure whether I am ready for open age football. As a young ref I think I will find it easier to start refereeing on Sundays (the day my local adults team play) with junior teams on an 11 a side pitch rather than moving straight to open age full 90 minutes and a full pitch.

What is everyones thoughts?
 
The Referee Store
The big advantage of low-level OA football vs juniors is that everything that will cause you problems at OA is on the pitch - and as such entirely within your control. Lower-league OA football usually involves 11 players on the pitch, a couple of subs and a manager/player manager. I've been bumbling around in OA football for 2.5 years now and I can count the number of matches I've had on one hand where the sidelines outnumber the on-pitch players - very much not the case whenever I've done U11/U12-ish age football.

If you play on Sundays, there's nothing to stop you giving a local Saturday league a go? Or even waiting half a season and joining an OA league around Christmas if the U16's have gone well?
 
Jacob Walukiewicz said:
I turned 16 earlier this year meaning once I re affiliate I will be a level 7 referee. But it also means the last season of junior football for my team, we have 3 games remaining and afterwords I will be looking forwards to a team for next season.
However after refereeing a full year with U11s and 12s I am craving a step up.
This however causes problems with my plans as I am still unsure whether I am ready for open age football. As a young ref I think I will find it easier to start refereeing on Sundays (the day my local adults team play) with junior teams on an 11 a side pitch rather than moving straight to open age full 90 minutes and a full pitch.

What is everyones thoughts?
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If you've only been refereeing u11 and u12 matches, you really need to get some games at u15 upwards under your belt before even considering a move to OA football.

And after that I would advise getting appointments as an assistant on OA leagues before taking the plunge into middles. That way you will get to experience the delights of 22 hungover, or still drunk, troglodytes lumbering around on a Sunday morning trying to spark a football match into life in between kicking lumps out of each other, and see how a more experienced colleague deals with it.

As a 16 yr old with only very junior football under their belts, you may well struggle to adapt to the poetic beauty that is OA football.
 
The start off my referee career literally went like this in terms of games.

U11>U11>U13>U12>U11>U11>Supply Line>U16>Open Age

That was at the age of just turned 17. I struggled, admittedly. There were a few circumstances around my games that did not help, but at the same time the fast step up did not help. I think you need to get a bit more experience in the upper age groups first but then I am a fan of throwing yourself in and learning. You never know if you can do it until you try. I do think your job is automatically harder turning up as a 16-18 year old to referee a bunch of 30-40 year old men rather than a referee turning up, no matter how qualified or experience, who is older.
 
Padfoot said:
If you've only been refereeing u11 and u12 matches, you really need to get some games at u15 upwards under your belt before even considering a move to OA football.

And after that I would advise getting appointments as an assistant on OA leagues before taking the plunge into middles. That way you will get to experience the delights of 22 hungover, or still drunk, troglodytes lumbering around on a Sunday morning trying to spark a football match into life in between kicking lumps out of each other, and see how a more experienced colleague deals with it.

As a 16 yr old with only very junior football under their belts, you may well struggle to adapt to the poetic beauty that is OA football.
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I have lined about 3 OA games and been in the middle for 3/4 U13 but I don't feel it was really enough to understand say positioning on a full sized pitch. That's why I think a step up to just U15s would help as that would be full sized pitch with more mature players that I will have to deal with.
 
Padfoot said:
If you've only been refereeing u11 and u12 matches, you really need to get some games at u15 upwards under your belt before even considering a move to OA football.

And after that I would advise getting appointments as an assistant on OA leagues before taking the plunge into middles. That way you will get to experience the delights of 22 hungover, or still drunk, troglodytes lumbering around on a Sunday morning trying to spark a football match into life in between kicking lumps out of each other, and see how a more experienced colleague deals with it.

As a 16 yr old with only very junior football under their belts, you may well struggle to adapt to the poetic beauty that is OA football.
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^ ^ ^ ^ This ^ ^ ^ ^
All day long. :)
 
Just to ask youself one question - have you ever expereinced, or what do you think your would (not should) do when a 6 foot 16 stone mid 30's guy turns to you, when you;ve blown for a free kick, and from 30 yards away starts jogging in your direction with probably more expletives than you knew existed, including the "you jumped up little ****", " my kids are older than you", " are you effing kidding me? what the ef are you blowing for you little tw*t, well come on, why, if thats a free kick i'm going t knock you the ef out, really, I am" as he lunges for you......

just saying as that was my first match - at 28!
 
Jesus @HRW your gonna have the lad hanging up his whistle at this rate. Wise words from Padders there that is the perfect path for you, at 16 you have years and years of refereeing ahead of you, there is no rush.
 
@Cheshire Ref Hopefully never get to that point - but it happens. We can not, and must not, believe that we will have the perfect players each and every game. Just being realistic.

And in answer to my own question - following a progressive path, as per the Oracle's post, will mean that he knows what he should, and will do in those situations as and when it arises.

Was an interesting situation on the FA Cup appointment this season - Level 4, reffing 5 years, done his double jumps, being assessed but had never had a mass con as his match control never let it get that far! 59 minutes, 4 reds and 7 YC later he'd had his first mass con. Didn't have a clue what to do. Totally lost the game after it, and well, lets just say he ain't a L4 any more!

Be prepared for the worst, and the rest will look like peaches and cream,

@Jacob Walukiewicz please don't hang up your whistle - at your age you could be PL by 23. Sieze the opportunity you have, take it slooowww and steady. Every game is lesson in either what to do, or what not to do. Watch all the other refs make the mistakes, then you can shine.
 
Jacob Walukiewicz said:
That's why I think a step up to just U15s would help as that would be full sized pitch with more mature players that I will have to deal with.
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@Jacob Walukiewicz U15's is a good step to go to, but don't think they are going to be "more mature". If anything, with all of the hormones in full swing, some of them can be animals. What is good is that it will give you the opportunity to start dealing with moaning and griping on the FOP (rather than from the sidelines), and one thing I have found is that the vast vast majority won't be right in your face over decisions.
 
xPositor said:
@Jacob Walukiewicz U15's is a good step to go to, but don't think they are going to be "more mature". If anything, with all of the hormones in full swing, some of them can be animals. What is good is that it will give you the opportunity to start dealing with moaning and griping on the FOP (rather than from the sidelines), and one thing I have found is that the vast vast majority won't be right in your face over decisions.
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That's actually sort of what I meant by more mature, I play at U16 so I know exactly what It'll be like. I'll be getting it from the sideline and on the pitch from kids and spectators who claim to know the laws of the game when they clearly don't but as you say, I won't have anyone walking up to me shouting and screaming expletives in my face.
 
I'll echo what Padfoot said upthread. Don't try to jump up the ages too quickly, by attempting to jump from U11/12 to OA you're missing out on valuable experience that will make the eventual transition to OA much easier.

By all means have a look at doing U13/14/15, but it will be very different to the younger ages in terms of the behaviour of players and it will take some getting used to. You're only 16, so my advice would be to take it slowly and look to build on what you already have in youth football before taking the step up to OA. Time is very much on your side!
 
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